Antiglare device for headlights



June 1940' c. H. MONTAGUE 2,204,430

' ANTIG'LARE DEVICE FOR HEADLIGHTS Filed Sept. 5. 1939 CM 101m 4 5 'Patented 1...... 11, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,204,430 I ANTIGLARE DEVICE FOR HEADLIGHTS" Carroll H; Montague, RichmomLVa.

r Application September 3 Claims.

veniently installed in any conventional head-' light without the necessity of altering the structure of the headlight.

Inmy co-pending application SerialNo. 255,770, filedl 'ebruary 10, 1939, there is disclosed a shield,

which. verticallyv divides the headlight into two light projectingzones, one of which directsintensified light rays immediately ahead of the vehicle in its path of. movement, while preventing said intensified rays from reaching the eyes of. an approaching driver or pedestrian on the opposite side of the road. The other. of said.zones emits a glow of screened light rays-off low intensity which are unobjectionable to the eyes of said approaching driver or pedestrian. Thisv shield is disposed substantially in'line with the. longi tudinal center of the headlight bulb and extends forwardly therefrom a sufilcient distance to intercept the intensified rays from the bulb" and one side of the parabolic reflector, while permitting indirect light rays to filter through into theopposite side of said reflector; I r The present invention is an improvement'on so that of my co-pending application Serial No.

255,770, filed February 10, 1939, and includes maddition to the above features, a hood for the lamp bulb which entirely covers that side of the bulb disposed in the screened light zone and projects forwardly at an angle through the vertical shield so as to-completelyintercept the forward projection of 'direct light rays from that side of the bulb in the intensified light zone.

It is therefore the object of the present inventionto provide an auxiliaryreflector and shield which shields the entirefront of the lamp bulb while' at the same time reflects the direct light rays to theright and back to that portion of 'the reflector in the intensified light zone, whereby no direct light rays are visible to the driver of an approaching vehicle even while roundinga curve in the highway.

With the above and other objects in view which willv appear as the description proceeds, my invention consists in the novel features hereinafter set forth, illustrated in theaccompanying draw-,

ing and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

5 Referring to the drawing whichnumerals out the several. views,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a headlight equipped with my improved shield.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same.

of like character designate similar parts through-- 5, 1939, Serial No. 293,497]

Fig. 3 is a section taken-on line 3--3' ofFig; '1, and I Fig.4 is a perspective detail of the shield.

i In the drawing I represents aconventional vature of the usual lens! and reflector 2, respectively. This shield is adapted to be positioned vertically in substantially the center of the headlight with its front and'rear edges spaced a slight distance from thelens; 1 and reflector 2; thecentral portion of the rear edge being cut out, as at l to accommodate the main road lamp 3, and the upper portion of said rear edge being out out at I I to accommodate the auxiliary lamp'5.- Thus the shield 9 divides the headlight into'two' zones, A being theintensified light zone, and B the screened light zone.

Any convenient means suchasstraps 12 engageable by-the rim 8 may be employed for retaining the shield 9 in place. 7

One side of the main lamp 3-is'enc1osed by aspaced hood l3 which extend's'from the rear edge of the-shield at the rear extremity of the main lamp 3 to a point substantially adjacent the forward end of the lamp bulb 3 whereit terminates in an auxiliary shield M which extends through are curved to conform substantially to the curbulb from the eyes of an approaching'driver.

This auxiliary shield I4 is preferably slightly curved and projects at a forward angle with The hood"l3"-isrespect to the main shield 9. preferably narrowat itsrear end adjacent the neck of the bulb and flares outwardly to the point where it joins the auxiliary shield I4. The inner surface of the auxiliary shield I4 is preferably of a reflecting nature so as to reflect the rays from zone A.

Theflaringside-wall of the hood I 3 is provided with aseries of vertical cut-out portions or slots I5 having forwardly and inwardly directed filter through the hood into'zone B of the .re-

the bulb to the right and back into that side of the main reflector 2 in the intensified light tongues l6. These slots permit screened rays-to flector; the tongues 16 being" arranged at such an angle as to prevent" any direct i rays from-the lamp-reachingthe eyes. of a motorist approaching from the opposite direction.

- Likewiseithe shield 9.is.-provided1with a series of vertically disposed slots I! having tongues l8 which project forwardly and to the same side as i the tongues l6, whereby intensified and reflected rays from the reflector 2 are screened but permitted to filter through the shield into zone B of the headlight while the tongues prevent any direct rays from reaching the eyes of an approaching motorist.

The shield 9 is preferably formed of stainless steel although other suitable material may be employed and the device may be shaped and slotted by a stamping operation. The hood I3 and auxiliary shield I4 are constructed of the same material and are preferably welded in place on the proper side of the shield.

In this connection it is to be noted that the position of the hood I3 and the angle of the tongues I6 and I8 are dependent on which side of the headlight is to be shielded. In this country, where motorists drive on the right hand side of the road, the arrangement would be as shown in the drawing, that is, with the hood covering the left side of the main lamp 3 and the tongues I6 and I8 directed to the opposite side of the shield.

On the other hand,-in those countries where the regulations require driving on the left side of the road, the shield and hood will be reversed.

In either case it is preferable that the surface of the shield 9 adjacent zone A on the side opposite the hood I3 be highly polished or provided with a suitable reflecting surface to increase the intensity of the forwardly directed rays from that zone of the headlight. The other side of the shield and the outer surface of the hood adjacent zone B are provided with a dull finish so as to further insure against the projection of any intensified rays from that zone.

It will thus be seen that with this arrangement I provide two lighting zones, one of which is exposed to the lamp bulb 3 and adapted to project direct and reflected light rays forwardly into the path of the vehicle, the other zone emitting a glow of screened light rays which filter through from the lamp and the intensified zone. The hood I3 and the forwardly extending shield 9, together with the tongues I6 and I8, definitely prevent the rays from the intensified zone A from reaching'the eyes of a motorist approaching on the opposite side of the road, but due to the slots I5 and I1 sufiicient indirect or screened rays enter the zone B on the side of the approaching motorist to effect a soft glow. Furthermore, the extended auxiliary shield I4 prevents any direct light rays from the bulb 3 reaching the eyes of an approaching motorist even at curved portions of the highway where the approaching motorist is momentarily in a more direct line with the intensified light zone.

It will be further noted that the edges of the shield 9, being spacedfrom the adjacent surfaces of the lens and reflector, and the hood spaced from the lamp and slotted, permit a circulating of air over the lamp bulb and thus prevent its overheating.

As heretofore stated, this device is adapted to be employed in connection with any conventional headlight structure and in the event that the reflector of such conventional headlight is normally tooclose to the lens, the reflector is preferably moved rearwardly a sufiicient distance to permit the shield 9 to extend forwardly so as to effectively intercept the light rays from the intensified zone.

While I have shown and described this invention as applied to an automobile headlight, it is to be understood that I do not intend to limit myself in this respect, as the invention may be employed with equal effect in connection with other types of headlights. For example, a locomotive headlight may be equipped with a device generally similar to the one just described with slight modifications for this adaptation.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and advantages of my invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further description, it being borne in mind that numerous changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set out in the following claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz' 1. An antiglare device for headlights comprising a disc-like shield, the rear edge of said shield being cut out to accommodate the main bulb of a headlight, a hood covering said cut-out portion on one side of said shield, an auxiliary shield at the forward end of said hood projecting angu" larly through said first named shield across the front of said bulb, screening openings in said hood and disc-like shield, means adjacent said openings for intercepting direct light rays from one side of said disc-like shield, and means for vertically supporting said disc-like shield in a headlight casing so as to divide the latter axially into two light zones.

2. In a headlight including a bulb, a parabolic reflector, and a lens; an antiglare device dividing the headlight axially into an intensified light zone and a screened light zone, comprising a vertically disposed shield interposed between the reflector and the lens, the rear edge of said shield being cut out to accommodate the bulb of said headlight, a hood covering said cut-out portion on one side of said shield and enclosing the corresponding side of the bulb, the opposite side of said bulb being exposed to the intensified light zone, an auxiliary shield at the forward end of said hood projecting angularly through said first named shield into the intensified light zone and across. the front of said bulb, and means for allowing the passage of screened light rays through said first named shield and hood into said screened light zone.

3. In a headlight including a bulb, a parabolic reflector, and an outwardly rounded lens; an antiglare shield comprising a disc mounted vertically between said lens and reflector and axially dividing the headlight into an intensified light zone and a screened light zone, the forward and rear edges of said disc conforming substantially to the curvature of the lens and reflector, respectively, the rear edge of said disc being cut out to accommodate the headlight bulb, its forward edge extending beyond the outer edge of said reflector a sufiicient distance to intercept light rays from the intensified light zone, a hood covering said cut-out portion on the opposite sideof said disc, an auxiliary shield at the forward end of said hood projecting angularly through said disc into the intensified light zone and across the front of said bulb, and means for allowing the passage of screened light rays through said disc and hood into said screened light zone.

CARROLL H. MONTAGUE. 

